Winter is a great time to visit national parks. Many national parks in the US have recreation centers that support winter activities such as skiing, sledding, and snowshoeing or offer guided tours and classes. But if you’re thinking of taking that drone with you to admire the beauty of nature from a different vantage point, think again. Flying a drone may be prohibited at the park you are visiting.
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Last weekend, I finally got to watch Free Solo about Alex Honnold climbing El Cap without any ropes, harness or other protective equipment. In the Oscar-winning documentary, there are a number or amazing aerial shots (especially towards the end). I immediately wondered if they might have used a drone to get those shots. Later in the film, you even see a remote controller for a drone together with other equipment. And, in the credits, drone operator Nick Wolcott is mentioned. Did Jimmy Chin’s film crew indeed use a drone in Yosemite’s National Park? Were they able, perhaps with the help of National Geographic, to get permission to fly a drone and use it document Alex Honnold’s ascent of El Cap? As you probably know, flying drones in any of the National Parks in the U.S. is not allowed. Out of curiosity, I researched the documentary a bit to see what I could find out.
Btw – if you haven’t seen Free Solo yet, I can highly recommend it. To watch Alex climb El Cap is both nerve-wracking and unbelievable at the same time. Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and their crew did an amazing job documenting Alex’s journey to the top of El Cap.
A photographer from New York is under federal investigation after sharing a drone photo of Yellowstone National Park’s Grand Prismatic Spring with his 717,000 Instagram followers. The photographer’s name is Timothy McGurr, but on Instagram he’s better known as 13thwitness. After some followers commented that it was illegal to fly drones in national parks, McGurr removed the photo from his account.
In Tony Northrup’s newest video, he “hopes” that you will buy a drone… but believes that most of you shouldn’t. He makes this claim for more reasons than one, stating that there are very few places to fly drones in the world and that the cost is too high for something that he claims is “disposable.” As major advocates of drones with a channel dedicated to their use, why would Tony and Chelsea make a video about not purchasing one? Let’s dissect their argument.
In pursuit of amazing photos of 2,000-degree hot lava, Erez Marom flew his $1,500 DJI Phantom drone too close and caused it to melt. The melted drone was worth it though according to Marom. He said:
“When you take a drone through a volcano, you take a certain risk that the drone isn’t going to come back,” Marom says. “I knew the drone might not come back, but it was worth it.”
